Pakistani Army Chief approaches Washington to request IMF for early release of bailout package
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ISLAMABAD – Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has approached Washington to request help in getting an early loan dispersal from the International Monetary Fund, as inflation and debt all stoke fears of economic collapse in cash strapped nation.
A report in *Nikkei Asia* quoting sources suggests that a top Pakistani general held a rare telephonic conversation with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman earlier this week as deteriorating foreign reserves overshadow economic recovery.
During his call with US Deputy Secretary of State, COAS Bajwa urged the White House and the US Treasury Department for the quick supply of $1.2 billion to Pakistan.
General Bajwa has reached out to Washington as the financial lifeline from global lenders would be crucial for Islamabad’s economy buckling under pressure amid global price rise.
The development comes as Tariq Fatemi, a close aide of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, was in the US to meet with the US Deputy Secretary of State.
Earlier, Washington-based lender IMF already granted Pakistan staff-level approval for the loan, however, the transaction will be processed after the multilateral lender's executive board grants final approval.
Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund is going into recess for the next three weeks and its board will not convene until late August, the report said, as the Pakistani currency is falling freely against the US dollar in interbank trading.
